The Soloist

Detailing the life of Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx), a schizophrenic, musical genius who lives on the street. The Soloist seemed to be a movie that tries to teach tolerance and understanding when it comes to the mentally disabled and the homeless. It may be touted as a long boring movie, but that is not to say it wasn’t a beautiful story with an outstanding score. The older viewer who likes when a film or story has a moral to it will really appreciate this while the young popcorn munching, red laser flashing, movie watcher will fall asleep.

Plot (Skip if you hate Spoilers)
Steve Lopez (Robert Downey JR.) is a well know journalist for the New York Times who is struggling due to the decrease in readership (a point which is blamed on the internet through dialogue and hinting) so he must find a good story and find it fast. One day whilst taking a lunch break he comes upon a homeless man playing a violin with only 2 strings. Curiously approaching the man and talking with him, Lopez learns that the man was a former student at the Julliard school and this prompts him to start a story on the musicians fall from grace.

The Soloist takes us into the lives of two very different men; One has a passion but lives with a lifelong obstacle of mental illness. The other is a man who has much going for him but struggles with commitment and loyalty. In essence these two souls find each other and unbeknownst to each other, help one another just by the influence of life.

My only gripe with the movie was the pacing because it did not offer much for excitement… for a film that honors Ludwig Van Beethoven as highly as this one, I did not experience any form of high crescendo but rather a lull cadence that will only work for the truly interested. It is a good watch for the parents who will no doubt leave saying “that was so beautiful” while dabbing away tears. For movie homers like myself I expected Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx to deliver acting unparalleled and I was not disappointed. However no matter how fine the acting, this isn’t something I could sit through a second time. Informative… yes, but not entertaining.

Nevertheless, the attention to detail in showing us the homeless problem in Los Angeles and the public’s continued ignorance in dealing with mentally ill people is spot on. It is definitely a must-see, even if you doze off a little bit.